1. We did not know the real Mitt Romney. It took too long for us to get the know him. We only began to find out after the first presidential debate.
2. Hurricane Sandy stalled Romney's momentum in key states.
3. The rhetoric of the Republican party does not translate to how it will improve the lives of many Americans. The GOP rhetoric is too strong, particularly on immigration and birth control and how to repeal or reform Obamacare.
4. The Tea Party and their refusal to back Romney in the Presidential Primaries cost the Romney Campaign too much time, energy and money. If the GOP had settled on a candidate earlier, they would have had a much earlier start at Romney vs. Obama. They treated the primary election as if it were an open-year election, when they needed to settle on a candidate early. The GOP forgot Reagan's 11th commandment...not to speak ill of thy fellow Republican.
5. Many in the GOP and in the Tea Party in particular do not fully appreciate how truly difficult it is in any election to defeat an incumbent. They were too focused, early on, on defeating Romney because he was not their style of conservative.
6. Romney did not woo enough women.
7. Minorities overwhelmingly supported Obama.
Five matters of advice for the GOP to win in 2014 and 2016.
1. Put all effort into winning back the Senate in 2014. If Sarah Palin wants to be a force in national politics again she can begin by running herself to defeat Sean Parnell in Alaska in the US Senate. Buy the end of 2013, the GOP needs to identify a winning candidate in each Senate Race.
2. Do not challenge any GOP incumbent in Congress in 2014 no matter how moderate they are. A moderate Republican is better than any liberal. Do not challenge the GOP within the party until the party is in firm control of both houses in Congress. Only contest open seats.
3. Settle on a Presidential contender early in 2016. Do not punish states that want to vote in their presidential primary early. The earlier the GOP can settle on a presidential candidate, the better. Maybe all states that have not otherwise voted should vote on Super Tuesday.
4. Tone down the Rhetoric. Show how GOP policies benefit the average American, especially those who earn less than 50,000. No one cares how much national debt is per person there is until they realize how it impacts them today and now. Don't just talk about the future, talk about today. That is why many people will say, "the Republicans care about my boss, not about me."
5. Take stock in how difficult it truly is to defeat an incumbent. GOP members need to be more generous with their political contributions and need to be less contentious with themselves.
6. Work to elect more conservative women to office. They do exist.
7. Work to elect more conservative minorities to office. They also exist.
The GOP will win over minorities and women if more are in office.
The bottom line, Republicans need to show that they care about people. This election should be a wake up call to the GOP. Tone it down, or we will continue to lose. We can still show that we care about the economy, about the deficit and about strong moral values. We simply need to be less extreme about it. It's not always about what you say, it's about how you say it.
This was the most telling statistic from the exit polls...
Which ONE of these four candidate qualities mattered most in deciding how you voted for president? (CHECK ONLY ONE) |
Total | Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shares my values | 27% | 42% | 55% | |
Is a strong leader | 18% | 38% | 61% | |
Cares about people like me | 21% | 82% | 17% | |
Has a vision for the future | 29% | 45% | 53% |
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